As the days passed, I found myself spending more and more time at the Loud household. It was like some sort of twisted version of Groundhog Day; every day felt the same as the last. Lincoln would disappear in the early hours of the morning only to return late at night, exhausted but eager to see me. Rita always seemed to be there, maintaining her calm and collected demeanor despite the chaos that surrounded her.

One evening, as I was sitting in the living room watching TV with Lincoln, Rita called out to me from upstairs. "Kai? Could you come here for a moment?" Her tone was quiet yet urgent, and it sent a shiver down my spine. I glanced at Lincoln, who nodded encouragingly before I reluctantly stood up and made my way toward Rita's bedroom.

With a heavy heart, I bid farewell to my best friend and trudged back inside the house. Rita was still busy cleaning up, but she paused when she saw me approaching. A look of surprise crossed her face before it transformed into a warm smile. "There you are! I was starting to wonder where you'd disappeared off to."

I smiled awkwardly in response. "Yeah, we got caught up talking... anyways, thanks again for letting me hang out here today. It meant a lot." My words were sincere;

she deserved far more than just my gratitude. As I stood there, lost in thought, Rita took the initiative and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it," she said gently. "I'm glad you had fun catching up with Lincoln." She glanced down at her watch before adding, "Oh! Well, I should probably start thinking about dinner soon. Would you like to stay for some?"